Victim Sues Meat Company After Losing Leg In Grinder

BRIDGEPORT -- Tomas Mendoza lost part of his leg to a meat grinder at a Bridgeport wholesale meat factory. He filed a negligence suit, claiming his injury could have been prevented.
Mendoza and his wife, Zenaida Sotelo, filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Capital Wholesale Meats, Inc. following the Jan. 2, incident at Fontanini Italian Meats and Sausages, 911 W. 37th Place

Mendoza, an employee of Total Staffing Solutions, was placed at the wholesale Italian meat and sausage company and was asked to clean a meat grinding machine on the third floor, the suit said.

The machine was required to be powered-on during cleaning so the old meat could be removed, the suit claims
Mendoza’s body became entangled in the grinding mechanism of the machine, with the machine violently grinding his left leg near his knee. Although the machine had an emergency shut off switch, it was not in reach, the suit said.

After hearing his screams of pain, another employee turned off the machine. Mendoza’s body was left entangled in the grinding machine for several minutes, according to the suit.

Mendoza’s leg was amputated between his left knee and his hip, leaving him permanently disabled with a prosthetic leg, the suit said.
The suit claims Capital Wholesale was negligent in failing to warn workers of the machine's dangerous condition; failing to warn workers of the dangerous location of the machine's grinding parts; failing to ensure workers were equipped with safety equipment; failing to provide proper maintenance for the machine; failing to have an emergency shutoff switch in place; and failing to install the machine in a safe location.

The two-count suit also claims loss of consortium for Tomas Mendoza’s wife, Zenaida Sotelo.

The suit seeks more than $50,000, additional relief and costs of the suit

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